Alright I confess, I have something of a crush on Lyle Fass from , this is one of those in my head only crushes, not like my crush on David Bowie where if (and when) I meet him I may just have to tell him of my grand plan to marry his son Joey so that I can be closer to him. But I digress from both Lyle and the whole point of this post. I have a crush on Lyle that goes no further than the amount I enjoy his blog and how much I love his silly-ass photo (at least I imagine in my perfect crush world that it is intended with irony). So imagine my intense joy when I stumbled across this early post on his blog (which I will now cut and paste in it's entirety);

Wine on Day 2..3..4..5 etc.

So as a retailer I get asked alot of questions about wine. From amateurs to professionals some of these questions resonate with me and I keep thinking about them over and over. One of them is if I don't finish a wine the evening I am drinking it what should I do to ensure it's freshness the next day? For pretty much all wines except sparkling wines I always say the same thing - - -If it's meant to last it will. Just put it in your temperature controlled unit if you got one and if you don't cork it up and throw it in the fridge. Most wine that is well made will last for two days but if you MUST know, through much trial and error I have come up with a crib sheet to help the uninitiated.

Barolo, Barbaresco or any Nebbiolo based wine - They usually start to oxidize on day two and smell like laundry detergent. From my experience if you are gonna open one of these......finish the bottle.

Bordeaux - Most of them oxidize on day two..but the more traditonally made ones like Cantemerle seem to get better overnight.

Loire Reds including Chinon, Bourgueil, Saumur etc. - These last two, three, and sometimes if you are lucky four days. A recent bottle of '96 Druet Bourgueil Vaumoreau (from 90+ year old Cabernet Franc Vines) was singing on day three.

Loire Whites - Chenin should be treated like Riesling but has a little bit less staying power. Some of the more fancy Sauvignon-Blanc based wines (Silex, Cotat, Vatan) last 2,3,4 days open.

Serious Beaujolais - Not this tutti frutti crap but serious grower Beaujolais always tastes great and if not better on day 2.

German, Austrian and Alsatian Riesling - Throw out the rule book for these......Great Spatlese and Auslese can last weeks in the fridge. Federspeil and Smaragd less but stil will put to shame any Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. Alsace is a mixed bag...really depends on the grower.

Cali Wines - Drink up! In my experience they almost never last overnight.

White Burg - Rarely will they last overnight but sometimes they do and get vastly better..othertimes they are oxidized in day 2.

Red Burg - These will really surprise you. Sometimes they go through and incredible transformation overnight and add layers of aromatic and palate complexity on day 2. But never let them go past three days as they start to tire. An '88 Engel Vosne-Romanee "Les Brulees" was stunning on day 2 after being hard and angular on day 1. Go figure.

Hope this helps!

And so there you go, not only is my crush smart but he is also informative and so helpful to boot.

Labels: wine culture

I think that most of us have always paired a crisp white with hot weather. You know something light and drinkable that leaves you refreshed and with almost no finish so that you can think about how hot you felt on the subway instead of the wine itself. Then things started to get a little crazy and suddenly everyone was drinking rose, which is light and crisp for the most part but sometimes has more structure and body than the usual white Bordeaux you might have chosen. Things progressed in the wine world and suddenly a ton of hot weather options became available; Lambrusco, sparkling Gamay, chilled Blaufrankisch, Barbera vivace and so on. As you may know I am a huge fan of the chilled and/or sparkling red. Sometimes it is the only thing that will do, after all how do you pair a hamburger with some light white? And sometimes you just want a little more weight on your tongue.

A few days ago when the temperature reached it's unbearable peak of 97 degrees (in the shade) and the humidity was overwhelming I reached for a bottle of wine and suddenly I was stumped on what to drink. I wanted to be refreshed but on the other hand I wanted to be distracted from the weather and be able to pay attention to something other than my sweaty self. What to drink? That is when it struck me like a bolt of lightning, or rather a suggestion from a very dear friend, why not have a big rich and slightly chewy red? So I reached for a bottle of our new Montsant, Capcanes, and opened it with gusto. And do you know that wine was PERFECT. I know it goes against all logic but somehow the weight of the wine, the tannins and structure seemed to stand up against the heat and humidity and I felt refreshed both in mind and in palate. SO now when the weather becomes unbearable and the humidity too much I think I will look to Australia for a big Shiraz or to Washington state for a lovely Cabernet and pour myself a big glass of red wine, all the while shaking my fist at the heat and humidity. "Take that New York City summer, take that!"

Labels: reds, spanish